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LeBron James is sidelined indefinitely with a high-ankle sprain but the legend wasted no time sending his Los Angeles Lakers teammates a message. James admitted he is hurting “inside and out” after being forced to miss time during the Lakers’ stretch run.
“Nothing angers and saddens me more than not being available to and for my teammates! I’m hurt inside and out right now. 🤦🏾♂️,” James tweeted. “The road back from recovery begins now. Back soon like I never left. #ThekidfromAKRON🤴🏾”
The Lakers have yet to release a specific return timeline for James, but it is expected to be a minimum of multiple weeks. The Athletic’s Bill Oram believes James could be sidelined for as much as six weeks depending on the severity of the injury.
“A high ankle sprain likely means a minimum of two weeks, but depending on the severity of the sprain it could be six weeks or more,” Oram noted. “The nature of the sprain — the fact it was an eversion sprain, opposite of a standard sprain when the ankle rolls to the outside of the foot — complicates things. Because James ankle buckled the other way, there is the possibility of a bone bruise developing on the tip of the fibula when it rammed into the ankle bone. That would be even tougher to come back from.”
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Montrezl Harrell Called out Solomon Hill: ‘A Guy Dove for a Loose Ball, Took His Leg out From Under Him’
James injured his ankle after Hawks center Solomon Hill collided with his leg on a loose-ball play. Not everyone believes the play was clean as several of James’ teammates came to his defense including Lakers big man Montrezl Harrell.
“A guy dove for a loose ball, took his leg out from up under him,” Harrell noted, via ESPN. “I really don’t feel like it was one of those loose-ball plays. He had to go through his leg to get the ball, man. He was turned sideways. The ball was behind him. I mean, you’re jumping at an angle, going across this way, I mean, I don’t know how you feel that’s a loose ball.”
The Lakers Face Big Decisions Days Before the Trade Deadline with Both James & Davis Sidelined
James joins Anthony Davis as the latest Lakers star to sustain a significant injury. The Lakers’ top two players are now sidelined, and it will be interesting to see how general manager Rob Pelinka will handle the upcoming NBA trade deadline. Los Angeles has been linked to several big men including Cavs center Andre Drummond but also need shooting.
James’ absence leaves another void on the wing that will be impossible to replace in either the free agent or buyout markets. Prior to James’ injury, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin indicated the Lakers are more likely to sit out the trade deadline and wait for players to become available in the buyout market. It will be worth watching how James’ injury impacts this strategy.
“Well, I’ll start by saying that based on the Lakers’ roster construction and where they’re going to be at salary cap wise, it’s going to be most likely buyout candidates over trade targets for the Lakers,” McMenamin explained on The Jump. “Because if they were to do away with some of their young talent in order to pursue a trade, they’re going to be in a tough situation this summer moving forward.”
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